Nashik
is in the northwest of Maharashtra, 185 km from
Mumbai (Bombay) and 220 km from Pune. Nashik is the administrative
headquarters of Nashik District and Nashik Division. The "Wine
Capital of India", or the "Grape City",
as it is popularly known, the city is located in the Western Ghats,
on the western edge of the Deccan peninsula on the banks of the
Godavari River. The city is known for its picturesque surroundings
and pleasant climate. The Godavari River flows
through Nashik from its source, which lies to the west-southwest
of the city, in the holy place of Trimbakeshwar.

Nashik is also important mythologically, historically,
socially and culturally. Known for the temples on the banks of the
Godavari, it has historically been one of the holy sites of the
Hindu religion. It is one of the four cities that hosts the massive
Sinhastha Kumbh Mela once every twelve years.

Legend dictates that the name "Nashik"
is derived from the Hindu epic Ramayana. During
the exile of Rama, Shoorpanakha the sister of the
demon king Ravana tried to seduce Rama.
Angered, Rama ordered Lakshmana to cut off Shoorpanakha's
nose (nasika). According to the Ramayana, Sita
was abducted by Ravana in the area of Panchavati, in the Western
Ghats.

Traditionally Nashik is known for its grapes, and
modern efforts are on to promote the growth of an export-oriented
wine industry in the district. Nashik is also deemed "the third
most industrialised city of Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune",
mainly due to extensive industrial development in recent times.
It is home to an important thermal power plant (Eklahare)
and a National Treasury Printing Press (India Security Press at
Nashik Road). There are five "Industrial Zones"
in the Nashik area and its outskirts (Satpur, Ambad, Sinnar, Igatpuri
and Dindori). These estates house corporations like Mahindra and
Mahindra, MICO (Bosch), VIP Luggage, Crompton Greaves, GlaxoSmithKline,
Graphite India Ltd. (Formerly Carbon Everflow Ltd), Larsen &
Toubro, ABB Group, Siemens, Samsonite, Ceat and Hindustan Aeronautics
Limited. Software companies like Aress Software, WNS,